Hands Across the Sea - Mary Choaks, a Cornish vanity sampler ~ Silk Thread Kit
Regular price
$85.00
Save $-85.00
Mary Choaks is a beautiful Cornish Historical Sampler from Hands Across the Sea
The sampler is suitable for needleworkers of all levels of ability. Mary executed her sampler predominantly with cross stitches laid over two threads of linen together with Algerian eyelets, backstitches, and rice stitches.
Choice of purchasing thread kit only, Printed Chart only or as full kit with linen.
Full Kit options:
Includes linen of choice, Chart Booklet + Soie d'Alger or Soie 1003 threads (+Free Shipping).
Linen Choices:
30 ct Fat Half - Victoria Sponge Cake -35" x 36" ~ Recommended for Soie d'Alger Threads only
37 ct Fat Quarter - Russian Tea Cake- 18" x 35" Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
38 ct Fat Quarter - Fuller's Teazel- 18" x 35" Recommended for both Soie d'Alger and Soie 1003 threads
45 ct FatEighth -Jersey Cream- 17.5" x 18" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads
48 ct Fat Eighth - Bride Cake - 17.5" x 18" ~ Recommended for Soie 1003 Threads
Thread Options:
Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger - 37 ct version includes 14 skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 38 ct or lower.
Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger - 30 ct version includes 16skeins. Recommended linen for this thread is 30 ct or lower.
Au Ver a Soie®, Soie 1003 includes 13 spools. Recommended linen for this thread is 37 ct or higher.
***Please note, this item is excluded from any discounts or sales.
About the Sampler from the Designer
"Mary finished her sampler on November 22 but, alas, the last two digits of the year have been removed. This is what is known as a vanity sampler. Later in life, when a samplermaker did not want to reveal her true age, she would remove or alter the date on her needlework.
Without the decade the sampler was worked in, we thought that we would not be able to find our Mary Choak(s). However, the research gods were smiling down on us. A search of family history records for baptisms in the 1800s resulted in 17 hits. Through our knowledge of sampler styles in this century we discounted those born before 1810 and after 1880. This left us with three Marys. Two were born in Cornwall, and one was born in London to Cornish parents who returned to Cornwall where they raised their daughter.
All three girls we found were raised in or around Helston which is the town nearest to where Nicola lives. We strongly suspect that our Mary is Mary Ann Choaks who was born in 1841 in the village of Mawgan-in-Meneage, just south of Helston on the Lizard Peninsula. Within the booklet there is detauled information about Mary’s life."
Hands Across the Sea - Sarah Spencer, 1870 – A Little Gem - Soie 100/3 Thread Kit
Regular price
$30.50
Save $-30.50
Sarah Spencer, c 1870"is the 3rd in a series of “Little Gems” from Hands Across the Sea Samplers. Sarah is suitable for needleworkers of all abilities and would make an ideal “starter” project for those wishing to explore sampler.
**Please note, Sampler Kit doesnot include chart. Purchase is required separately on Hands Across the Sea.**
Choice of purchasing thread only or as full kit.
Full Kit options:
Includes linen of choice + 8 spools of Soie 1003 threadand 2 Tapestry Size 10 Beading Needles (Gift with Purchase)
53/63 Fat Eighth of Sycamore Seed Pod - 18" x 29.5"
Optional choice of purchasing just thread kit without linen.
Au Ver a Soie®, Soie 100/3 Silk Thread colors include:
SMS 072 - Grey Green
SMS 148 - Straw - light
SMS 177 - Salmon
SMS 274 - Khaki green - dark
SMS 295 - Terracotta
SMS 499 - Garnet
SMS 523 - Salmon - very dark
SMS 531 - Avocado green - dark
***Please note, this item is excluded from any discounts or sales.
About the Sampler from Nicola Parkman:
"Sarah Spencer is a very common name in England so we were unable to research our Sarah. You will note the reversed “S” in Sarah. It is not unusual for young children to reverse letters when they read and write but Sarah stitched the letter correctly in her surname. She could have simply got it wrong and did not take the time to correct her mistake. However, that does not tally with the neatness of her stitching and the diligence she showed in completing her sampler. We think it could be her way to record that although her name was spelt with an “S” it is pronounced differently like a soft vibrated “Z”."
Hands Across the Sea - Sarah Spencer c. 1870 – A Little Gem - Soie d'Alger Thread Kit
Regular price
$43.00
Save $-43.00
Sarah Spencer, c 1870"is the 3rd in a series of “Little Gems” from Hands Across the Sea Samplers. Sarah is suitable for needleworkers of all abilities and would make an ideal “starter” project for those wishing to explore sampler.
**Please note, Sampler Kit doesnot include chart. Purchase is required separately on Hands Across the Sea.**
Kit Options:
Choice of purchasing thread only OR as full kit.
Full Kit options:
37 ct option for 1 strand: Includes linen of choice + 9 skeins of Soie d'Alger threads and 2 Tapestry Size 26 Needles (Gift with Purchase)
30 ct option for 2 strands : Includes linen of choice + 10 skeins of Soie d'Alger threads and 2 Tapestry Size 28 Needles (Gift with Purchase)
Linen Choices:
30 ct Fat Quarter - Pecan Shortbread - 18" x 35"
37 ct Fat Eighth - Corn Tassel - 18" x 17.5"
38 ct Fat Eighth - Fuller's Teazel - 18" x 17.5"
Au Ver a Soie®, Soie d'Alger Silk Thread colors include:
SDF 945 - Garnet (2 skeins for 30 ct version)
SDF 2216 - Avocado green - dark
SDF 2532 - Straw - light SDF 2636 - Terracotta
SDF 3734 x 2 - Khaki green - dark
SDF 4622 - Salmon
SDF 4623 - Salmon - very dark
SDF 5383 - Grey Green
***Please note, this item is excluded from any discounts or sales.
About the Sampler from Nicola Parkman:
"Sarah Spencer is a very common name in England so we were unable to research our Sarah. You will note the reversed “S” in Sarah. It is not unusual for young children to reverse letters when they read and write but Sarah stitched the letter correctly in her surname. She could have simply got it wrong and did not take the time to correct her mistake. However, that does not tally with the neatness of her stitching and the diligence she showed in completing her sampler. We think it could be her way to record that although her name was spelt with an “S” it is pronounced differently like a soft vibrated “Z”."
Hands Across the Sea - Mary Stead 1824 – A Little Gem - Soie 100/3 Thread Kit
Regular price
$42.00
Save $-42.00
This great first Sampler for beginners is the latest from popular Hands Across the Sea samplers.
**Please note, Sampler Kit doesnot include chart. Purchase is required separately on Hands Across the Sea.**
Kit Options :
Choice of purchasing thread only OR as full kit.
Full Kit options:
Includes linen of choice + 14 spools of Soie 100/3 thread and 2 Tapestry Size 10 Beading Needles (Gift with Purchase)
Linen Choices:
37 ct Fat Quarter of Corn Tassel - 18" x 35"
38 Ct Fat Quarter of Fuller's Teazel - 17.5" x 35"
45 ct Fat Eighth of Foxtail Miller - 17.5" x 18"
53/63 Fat Eighth of Sycamore Seed Pod - 18" x 29.5"
14 Spools of Au Ver a Soie®, Soie 100/3 Kit Includes:
SMS 022 - Golden olive ~ light
SMS 061 - Forest green ~ very dark
SMS 072 - Blue green ~ medium
SMS 088 - Beige brown ~ ultra very light
SMS 109 - Raspberry ~ very dark
SMS 344 or 134 - Salmon ~ light
SMS 148 - Straw ~ light
SMS 401 - Pearl grey ~ very light
SMS 494 - Salmon ~ medium
SMS 499 - Christmas red ~ dark
SMS 523 - Raspberry ~ dark
SMS 656 - Pistachio green ~ ultra dark
SMS 707 - Pine green ~ medium
SMS 773 - Pewter grey – very dark
***Please note, this item is excluded from any discounts or sales.
About the Sampler from Nicola Parkman:
"This sampler is a postcard from the heart. The sampler, designed and stitched by Nicola as a gift to her husband, has been inspired by samplers in her private collection and conveys several messages to her husband.
The ‘language of flowers’ was a Victorian-era means of communication in which various flowers and floral arrangements were used to send coded messages, allowing individuals to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken.
The English are famous for their roses, and roses are deeply implanted in the English heart. They bring a sweetness of fragance and beauty of colouring, the rose is the queen of an English garden blooming from early summer until the Christmas bells ring out."
Hands Across the Sea - Maria Vincenza Laricchia, 1837 Soie 1003 Thread Kit
53/63 ct Fat Eighth of Sycamore Seed Pod - 18" x 29"
Au Ver a Soie®, Soie 1003 kit Includes:
SMS 523 x 4
***Please note, this item is excluded from any discounts or sales.
About the Sampler from Nicola Parkman:
"Maria’s sampler, a trilogy, comes not from England but from the Puglia area of Italy. Puglia, the “heel” of Italy, is an ancient land that is known for its sunny dry climate. It is a land of sea, hills, endless plains, and its amazing coastline on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea.
Maria finished her sampler in 1837. It is possible that she was ten years of age as this number appears to the right of her name. To the left of her name she stitched IO, the Italian for “I”. Maria married Fortunato Giannone, and they lived in Terlizzi – a town found to the west of the seaport of Bari on the Adriatic Sea. Their son Tommaso Giannone was born in 1859."